Movies like Pound Foolish (1940)
The best movies like Pound Foolish (1940) are Johnny Dangerously (1984), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977) and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956). If Pound Foolish hooked you with its crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Asphalt Jungle (1950)7.5/10 from 562 votes
- NewestMaternal Instinct (2026)Released 2026
Johnny Dangerously (1984)
An honest, goodhearted man is forced to turn to a life of crime to finance his neurotic mother's skyrocketing medical bills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFun with Dick and Jane (1977)
When an upwardly mobile couple find themselves unemployed and in debt, they turn to armed robbery in desperation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
A newspaper publisher, wanting to prove a point about the insufficiency of circumstantial evidence, talks his possible son-in-law Tom into a hoax in an attempt to expose ineptitude of the city's hard-line district attorney. The plan is to have Tom plant clues leading to his arrest for killing a female nightclub dancer. Once Tom is found guilty, he is to reveal the setup and humiliate the DA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPickup on South Street (1953)
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHow to Rob a Bank (2007)
Caught in the middle of a bank robbery, a slacker and a bank employee become the ones who arbitrate the intense situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisMaternal Instinct (2026)
Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBottle Rocket (1993)
Dysfunctional friends Dignan and Anthony plan and execute a robbery with their pot-growing friend, Bob. The short film that inspired Wes Anderson’s feature debut.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter the Fox (1966)
A criminal mastermind sets up a phony film production as part of a plan to smuggle stolen gold.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo-Way Stretch (1960)
Three criminals plan to break out of prison the day before their release in order to carry out a daring jewel robbery, intending to establish the perfect alibi by returning to jail afterwards. First however they must get out, a task made more difficult by a new, stricter prison officer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crash (2026)
A teen slams her car into a building, killing her boyfriend and his friend. What seems like a tragic accident becomes a murder case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAcross 110th Street (1972)
In a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Capt. Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Great Train Robbery (1903)
After the train station clerk is assaulted and left bound and gagged, then the departing train and its passengers robbed, a posse goes in hot pursuit of the fleeing bandits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThey Live by Night (1949)
An escaped convict, injured during a robbery, falls in love with the woman who nurses him back to health, but their relationship seems doomed from the beginning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Protector (1985)
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisCigarettes & Coffee (1993)
At a desert diner, the lives of five strangers become linked through a single twenty-dollar bill. Shot for $20,000 and starring Philip Baker Hall, the short premiered at Sundance and later inspired Anderson’s debut feature Hard Eight (1996).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmall Apartments (2012)
When a clumsy deadbeat accidentally kills his landlord, he must do everything in his power to hide the body, only to find that the distractions of lust, the death of his beloved brother, and a crew of misfit characters force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisTake Me (2017)
Ray is a fledgling entrepreneur who specializes in high-end simulated abductions. He jumps at the chance when a mysterious client contracts him for a weekend kidnapping with a handsome payday at the end. But the job isn't all that it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisGun Crazy (1950)
Bart Tare, an ex-Army man who has a lifelong fixation with guns, meets a kindred spirit in sharpshooter Annie Starr and goes to work at a carnival alongside her. After upsetting the carnival owner who lusts after Starr, they both get fired. Soon, at Starr's behest, the couple embarks on a crime spree for cash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTake the Money and Run (1969)
Virgil Starkwell is intent on becoming a notorious bank robber. Unfortunately for Virgil and his not-so-budding career, he is completely incompetent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisX-Mas on Fire (2020)
A heist on Christmas Eve going horribly wrong.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)
A man recognizes the thief who had previously robbed him as one of the men involved in an unrelated mob shootout.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHaun! (2002)
Short film is set on a dark and deserted location at two o'clock at night. In the light of the streetlamps, we see how a man has been severely beaten up. To revenge him, his friend gives the assailants a dressing down. The four men attract the attention of curious motorists driving by.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Defrayment (2012)
A young hitman is put through the motions in being part of "the business" and a simple trip to reclaim a lost grimoire introduces him to a world of pain, where nothing is what it seems and where he too, has a price to pay.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
The One Thing to Do (2005)
Edward Monskii, is in a very bad shape, and Botter Gaarman, obviously tired, are in the terrace of a coffee of a Mediterranean city, ready for a long time prepared mission. When a quite old man, Ernest Carpentier, joined their table, the situation becomes tense and dangerous.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Glass Cabin (2019)
A tennis player struggles with the paranoia of a brief encounter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
A Matter of Principal (2003)
A retired hitman returns to rescue a kidnapped girl.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
The Lovers (2020)
Anirudh is an Indian young guy whose life changes when his wife files a case against him under Act 498A: domestic violence. As the story unfolds, it conveys how lack of communication between parents and children destroys many lives in a marriage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Mersea (2025)
Sonny never planned to come back home. But when his mother dies, he heads back into town under cover of night, hoping to say goodbye without stirring up trouble.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Logorama (2009)
Two cops portrayed by Michelin Men chase an armed Ronald McDonald through the streets of a fictionalized, stylized city.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Pound Foolish?
The closest matches to Pound Foolish are Johnny Dangerously (1984), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977) and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Pound Foolish?
Start with Johnny Dangerously (1984), the closest match to Pound Foolish.
What is the highest-rated movie like Pound Foolish?
The Asphalt Jungle (1950), rated 7.5/10 by 562 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Pound Foolish?
Maternal Instinct (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Pound Foolish?
Yes: Johnny Dangerously (1984), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977) and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956).
How are movies similar to Pound Foolish chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Pound Foolish, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.